Drastic Measures
by toyotama
Summary: When you've hit rock bottom, what you really need is a second chance. But will Minato be able to cope once circumatances are drastically changed? - Spoilers for P3


**Warning: Implications of Suicide**

**A/N:** Hello! And welcome to my first attempt at writing fanfiction. It may be a little messy here and there, so feel free to let me know what you think, I'd really appreciate it.

Well then, enough from me - Sit back and enjoy!

* * *

As Minato stood on the roof, only one thought crossed his mind.

_"This is it..."_

He had climbed over the high fencing, and was now standing on the narrow ledge that separated him from the top of the building and a swift journey to the ground, holding onto the fence with one hand. It was cold up there, but he didn't mind. The breeze was refreshing, almost calming, as it hit him, occasionally blowing a few strands of midnight blue hair into his face.

He let out a sigh and glanced back over his shoulder. There was no-one else on the roof.

"Good." he muttered to himself. There shouldn't be, considering he'd skipped class to get here. Ms. Toriumi wasn't going to be happy.

Not that that mattered now.

Ms. Toriumi, or rather, Maya... she was another reason he had decided to do this. She was just one on a long list of people who would end up getting hurt by him. He wasn't sure how or why he knew this. It was like he had lived though the year already. He knew everything that was going to happen. All the fighting. All the deaths.

The shadows that appeared on full moons, their team's ascent into Tartarus, and the Harbinger. Death itself.

Minato flinched at the thought. He has carried it inside him for ten years, completely unaware. His friends, his team-mates - everyone suffered because of him and his ignorance.

But not this time.

This time, things would be different.

It wasn't an easy decision to come to. Then again, Minato had had his share of difficult decisions before._ "Desperate times call for desperate measures. This one, at least," _he thought to himself,_ "Will make things easier."_

If he wasn't there, then Death wouldn't be there either. It can't call Nyx if it dies with him, right?

Then again, maybe not. What if this doesn't work? What if another one appears? What would the others do then?

He shook his head and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths in an attempt to rid himself of his hesitation.

No, this would work. It had to.

He opened his eyes again and leaned forward, sill holding onto the fence, to take a look at the ground below him.

The sound of the door opening behind him caused him to jump. He turned quickly to investigate, but only caught a glimpse of the person who'd opened the door before his foot slipped off of the ledge and they rose out of his view, to be replaced by the rapidly passing features of the side of the school.

The sight was short-lived, however. As it was quickly replaced with an all-consuming darkness with an all too audible crunch.

* * *

The silence was ringing in his ears and his head was pounding.

Minato slowly opened his eyes and was met with a blue ceiling. He squinted, feeling a little puzzled. "This is the Velvet Room, but didn't I...?"

He let out a soft sigh, and pulled himself to his feet with a slight grunt. He glanced around the room. The dim, monochrome blue only brightening as the elevator moved past another floor, briefly flooding it with light as it did. A large clock-like device was attached to the wall, its arm continuously spinning rapidly. As usual, Igor was sitting down, with Elizabeth standing at his side. Something was different, though. In place of his usual smile, Igor was frowning. Minato shuddered. Igor didn't seem to notice and simply gestured to the set in front of him.

"Please, sit." he said sharply. Clearly, he wasn't happy.

Minato silently complied. There was no use in trying to argue with him.

"I'm sure you are wondering why you're here," Igor said, an obvious displeasure in his voice. "The simple answer to that is, you died."

"...Right." Minato simply murmured in response.

"You have to understand, this is not the outcome we had envisioned. Much less wanted." Igor's tone seemed to be softening, if only slightly "In your contract, you chose to accept the outcome of our actions, whatever that outcome may be. However, it seems this time, you have backed out before any real outcome could be achieved."

Minato bit his lip and turned his gaze to the floor. Backing out..? Now that he thought about it, maybe that was true. But... he had done it for the right reasons, hadn't he?

"Now, now. There is no need to despair over the situation. What's done is done. There is no going back"

That didn't make him feel any better. Even when he was trying to help, as far as Minato was concerned, he had still seemed to mess things up.

"Though should you choose to pursue it, there is another option for you"

Minato's head shot up, and he met Igor's gaze. His usual wide smile had returned, and he was looking at Minato expectantly.

"Another chance..?" Minato asked. If there was any chance he could fix this, he was going to take it.

"Of course. Though be warned, after this, there will be no others. Do you understand?" Igor questioned, slightly raising an eyebrow.

Minato nodded "Yes. Just.. let me know what I have to do."

"You don't have to do anything right now, my boy." Igor responded. He turned to Elizabeth. "Now, Elizabeth, if you would..." He gestured towards Minato, and the blonde girl responded with a nod.

"Wait... Don't I get an explanation of what's going to happen?" Minato questioned as Elizabeth stepped towards him.

"There is no need for that now." Igor said, grinning. "All I ask is that you abide by your current contract."

Minato opened his mouth to object but was interrupted by Elizabeth as she placed her hand on his head.

"Farewell for now, Master Arisato."

The smile on her face was the last thing Minato saw before the world turned black.


End file.
